Judie’s Gear Diary – 2005-06-08

If you are using the Samsung i500 Palm OS PDA phone and you are lamenting the lack of true two-way SMS, then you owe it to yourself to check out PDA Apps I500SMS. Samsung really dropped the ball on this otherwise feature-laden phone because it included software that allowed users to receive SMS messages, but not to return or initiate them. What's funny is that two years ago when I first reviewed the i500, I wasn't a big SMS user, so I didn't exactly miss a feature that I wasn't using. However, I recently aquired Steve's old i500 and the first thing I noticed was its lack of SMS capabilities. While this wasn't exactly a deal-breaker, it was a glaring omission.Not only does I500SMS correct this problem while integrating seamlessly and flawlessly into the existing i500 SMS program, it also allows the user to send email messages via SMS. Some might think it odd that I would be recommending software for a two year old phone that runs Palm OS 4.1 (!!), but I have found that there are quite a people that prefer the “Phone first, PDA second” approach that this device takes, including me. With the addition of the I500SMS software, I have really come to enjoy using my “new” phone. :0)

What’s Julie working on?

I have allergies and sinus issues 24/7 365 days a year. My nose is almost always a little sniffly. TMI? Sorry. But I know I'm not the only person who has these types of issues. While several people on the team have reviewed air purifiers, the Airdog X5 is the first one I've tried out and the first one I'll be reviewing. Why have I waited so long? I didn't want to deal with replacing (and buying) HEPA filters. The Airdog has no consumables. Stay tuned for my review coming soon. Please follow The Gadgeteer or subscribe to our newsletter so you won't miss my review. (12/11)